Metallic drawer cabinet



Jan. 14, 1947. c. L. DEWEY METALL IC DRAWER CABINET Filed Nov. 22, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 14, 1947. v DEWEY 2,414,095

METALLIC DRAWER CABINET Filed Nov. 22, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jam gwwzawemy,

Patented Jan. 14, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,414,095 METALLIC DRAWER CABINET Clarence L. Dewey, Elkhart, Ind. 7 Application November 22, 1943, Serial No. 511,240 2 Claims. (01. 312-141) The present invention is directed to a drawer cabinet, the constituent portions of which are formed from stiff sheet metal and tubing properly configured and fabricated by methods of quantity production and united in such a way as to produce an article of furniture of attractive and tasteful design and at the same time possessing adequate strength and rigidity to withstand severe usage.

The methods employed in its construction are such that the resulting structure will resemble in appearance a paneled wooden cabinet of artistic style and excellent craftsmanship, and these results are attained by paneling the body and drawers and grooving or fluting the corner posts in such a way as to stiffen the walls and also provide the means for uniting the adjoining parts without the employment of extraneous fastening means and in a manner which serves to conceal the joints and thus present an exterior surface which may be finished in attractive colors or in simulation of rare woods.

Further objects and details will appear from a description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the cabinet;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail in plan of two ofthe rear corners taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of corner taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3 showing one of the drawer guide rails;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1 showing a paneled drawer; i

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail on line 'l'! of Fig. 2 showing a wooden top for the cabinet; and

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the alternate metal top.

Save for the optional use of the Wooden top, all portions of the cabinet are constructed of metal and. cabinets of substantially identical construction can be equipped with either form of top.

The body portions of the cabinet are united to and supported by four corner posts of identical construction so that a description of one will suifice for all. Each post is formed from metal tubing configured to provide an upper grooved portion Ill of uniform four-pointed star-shaped cross section, and a lower downwardly tapering portion I l throughout which the grooving progressively diminishes until it disappears in a circular tip terminating in a closed flat-faced foot I2 adapted to contact the floor.

The star-shaped formation of the post provides four equally spaced rounded ridges I3 having dia side and front verging flat side walls M which in unison afford intervening grooves l5. The bases of the grooves are throughout, equidistant from the longitudinal axis of the post so that as the latter begins to taper in the lower leg portion, the grooves will become progressively shallower until they disappear.

The four posts stand vertically and present their inner opposed ridges in diagonal relation to the body of the cabinet, thereby in the case of the rear posts presenting two of the groove walls on opposite sides of the intervening ridge in opposed relation to the back and side walls of the cabinet and in position to permit said angularly related walls to be united thereto. The cabinet walls comprise two side walls is and a back wall ll, each formed from stiff sheet metal die-pressed to provide indented panels l8. As shown, each side wall presents three parallel spaced panels, each surrounded by the undeiormed plane wall surface and the back wall will be similarly paneled, although it wil be understood that the dimensions, number, and arrangement of the panels may be modified, provided only, however. that the pattern employed be one which affords adequate stiffness to prevent bending or buckling of the relatively thin metal and conserves the paneled appearance characteristic of wooden furniture of attractive design.

The end edges of each of the paneled Walls are inturned to provide obliquely extending flanges H! which, in each instance, make face contact with the groove wall of the opposed corner post, to which the flange is united by a line of interior Welding 2%] which will be concealed from View, so that only a neat exterior line of juncture will be visible, thus presenting the appearance of fine craftsmanship in the fitting and joining of the parts.

Each of the end walls has secured to its inner face a group of spaced drawer guide rails 2| equal in number to the drawers 22, three being shown in the present instance.

The guide rails are in each instance secured to the outstanding or unindented areas of the side wall surfaces so that the upper and intermediate rails will extend from front to rear between the panels while the lower rail will extend below the lower panel and along the lower margin of the side wall. The positions of the intermediate and lower rails are indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Each rail is of stepped formation and formed from a strip of stifi sheet metal to afford a center outstanding ledge 23 of inwardly open U- shaped formation, the side walls 24- of which merge at right angles into the vertical face walls of a box-shaped body, the flat side walls 25 of which terminate in vertically extending flanges 26 united by spot-welding to the inner faces of the unindented side walls of the cabinet. The center ledges extend beneath the end margins of the fioors 21 of the respective drawers and above the underlying drawer in each instance and thus afiord spacers between the drawers, and at the same time the stepped formation of the rails provides a stiff and rigid construction which affords substantial reenforcement for the end walls of the cabinet while providing smooth riding surfaces for the in and out movements of the drawers.

Each drawer is of conventional form of stiff sheet metal and comprises, in addition to the floor 21, the ends 28, back 29, and front wall 30, which latter is indented to provide a panel 31 surrounded by the unindented plane surface of the metal. Each panel is outwardly protruded to provide in its center a handle 32 having an enlarged head 33 and a reduced neck 34 which provides a convenient finger hold for manipulating the drawer.

The top, bottom, and end margins of the front wall of each drawer are inturned to afford flanges 35, the bottom flange in each case having along its edge a downturned lip 36 which is positioned to engage a stop flange 3'! upstanding from the inturned wall 38 of a spacer bar 39, provided along its lower edge with a flange 49, thus giving to the spacer bar an inwardly facing channel formation which increases its stiffness and conceals the raw edges of the metal.

lhe ends of the spacer bars abut across the channeled facesof the associated front posts, as shown in Fig. 4, and are secured thereto by a concealed welding strip 4! on the interior, which arrangement affords a plurality of spaced cross connecting bars across the open front side of the body of the cabinet and thus serves to rigidly tie the structure together, while at the same time providing a finish between the drawers which.

serves to improve the appearance of the cabinet.

As shown the lowermost spacer is wider than the intermediate and upper spacers to bring its lower edge into register with the ends of the lowermost drawer rails; but, save for this difference in width, all of the spacers are of identical construction.

The cabinet is finished by the provision either of a wooden top 46 as in Fig. '7, or a metal top 45 as in Fig. 8. Where a wooden top is to be employed, the upper edges of the back and end walls are inturned to provide relatively wide flanges 58 adapted to receive concealed screws 41; but where a metal top is employed, somewhat narrower flanges :58 may be provided which are spot welded to the under face of the top, which latter is downturned around its edges to afford stiffening flanges 49 terminating in inturned lips 50, which flanging conceals the raw edges and provides the required appearance of thickness in the cabinet top.

It will beseen from the foregoing description that the cabinet throughout is so constructed that the various portions thereof may be diepressed from sheet metal or reduced from tubing by methods of quantity production, and thereafter united without the use of extraneous fastening means, in such a way as to afford great rigidity and durability while at the same time concealing from view'all jointsor raw edges which would tend to detract from the appearance of the cabinet as an attractive and harmoniously designed article of furniture.

The use of channeled or fluted corner posts not only provides uprights of ample rigidity to support the weight of the cabinet but also affords the means for attachment of the walls and front spacer bars and at the same time affords an attractive corner finish in harmony with the paneled walls and drawers, so that the pleasing appearance of the cabinet as a whole is greatly enhanced by the presence of these structural elements which serve to integrate the cabinet.

I claim:

1. A metallic drawer cabinet, comprising spaced front and rear metallic tubular corner posts of uniform cross-section throughout their upper portions and tapered at their lower portions and terminating in feet adapted for floor contact, said corner posts being of four pointed star shape in cross-section throughout their upper portions with the star points extending diagonally, said star shape affording four depressed grooves and four intervenin ridges, opposed ridges projecting inwardly in diagonal relation to the center of the space subtended between the posts, back and side integral vertical walls, the contiguous end edges of back and side walls being struck inwardly to provide attaching flanges respectively in facewise contact and united by welding with groove wall surfaces on opposite sides of the intervening inner ridge of the associated rear post, and the front edges of the side walls being similarly flanged and united to the opposed groove surfaces of the associated front corner posts, companion groups of vertically spaced parallel drawer guide-rails, those of each group secured to one side wall, each being one of an opposed pair, and each being secured by welding to the inner face of the adjacent side wall, metallic drawers slidable along companion pairs of guide rails, metallic spacer bars respectively between the drawers and below the lowermost drawer and having their ends united by welding to groove surfaces of the contiguous front corner 'posts in front of the ridge which intervenes between such surfaces and the groove surfaces to which the side walls are united, and a top overlying the cabinet walls.

2. A metallic drawer cabinet, comprising spaced front and rear metallic tubular corner posts of uniform cross-section throughout their upper portions and tapered at their lower portions and terminating in feet adapted for floor contact, said corner posts being of four pointed star shape in cross-section throughout their upper portions, with the star points extending diagonally, said star shape affording four depressed grooves and four intervening ridges, opposed ridges projecting inwardly in diagonal relation to the center of the space subtended between the posts, back and side vertical walls, the side walls being of integral formation and indented in selected areas to provide depressed panels surrounded by the undepressed wall areas, the contiguous end edges of back and side walls being struck inwardly to provide attaching flanges respectively in facewise contact and united by welding with groove wall surfaces on opposite sides of the intervening inner ridge of the associated rear post, and the front edges of the side walls being similarly flanged and united by welding to the opposed groove surfaces of the associated front corner posts, companion groups of vertically spaced parallel drawer guide-rails, those of each group secured to one side wall, each being one of an opposed pair, and each being of metallic channel formation with its open side fronting outwardly and secured by Welding to the inner face of the adjacent side wall along unindented areas thereof, metallic drawers slidable along companion pairs of guide rails, metallic spacer bars of inwardly open channel formation respectively lying the cabinet walls.

r 6 between the drawers and below the lowermost drawer and having their ends united by welding to groove surfaces of the contiguous front corner posts in front of the ridge which intervenes between such surfaces and the groove surfaces to which the side walls are united, and a top over- CLARENCE L. DEWEY. 

